ORIGINAL COPIES OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS BRING TOP PRICE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 27, 1992                   TAG: 9201250281
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: EXTRA 4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Daily News
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Short
ORIGINAL COPIES OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS BRING TOP PRICE
Perched on the shelves of a Beverly Drive bookstore geared toward children is an original 1910 copy of L. Frank Baum's "The Emerald City of Oz."
For a mere $6,000, Dorothy's adventures down the Yellow Brick Road in hardback can be yours.
If you're strapped for cash, a first edition of Dr. Seuss' 1957 "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" can be had for $750. Needless to say, there are no torn pages or children's crayon scribbles inside.
No garden-variety chain bookstore, this, the Books of Wonder at 439 N. Beverly Drive in Beverly Hills, which caters to collectors of children's books. Inside the bookstore, which opened in October, the noise and traffic along Beverly Drive seem far removed. As soft music fills the background, patrons can browse from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The bookstore, one of three owned and operated by James Carey and Peter Glassman, features classics; rare collectible volumes; original illustrative art; and related toys, puppets and gifts along with new books.
With 40 volumes, the store has one of the largest collections of Oz books for sale, Carey said.
Along with collectibles that run several thousand dollars, the store offers books from $2.95 for paperbacks, Carey said.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB